Review: All The Forever Things by Jolene Perry

In a nutshell (aka Goodreads description):

“How many times have you saved me?” I ask Bree.

She grins. “Don’t you mean how many times have we saved each other?”

Nothing is forever. Gabe knows that more than most girls. After all, she lives in a funeral home (it’s the family business), and she gets that everything in the world dies eventually – people, rumors, fashion trends, the nickname “Graveyard Gabe.” But her best friend, Bree, has been a constant in her life; it’s always been the two of them together. Until Bree starts seeing a guy who stands for everything Gabe thought they were against. How could Bree change her mind and go for someone like Bryce Johnson?

Now Gabe doesn’t know who her friend is anymore. And the only person who seems to have time for her is Hartman, the new guy, who is somehow not weirded out by the funeral home stuff (well, a little). Still, Gabe doesn’t want to lose her mind over a guy the way Bree has, so she holds back.

But a very strange prom night (driving the family hearse instead of a limo) will change what Gabe knows about friendship, love, life, and everything that comes after – forever and otherwise.

My review (aka Diana’s review):

How come I’m discovering Jolene Perry’s books just now? I need to check out the rest of her books because if they are as good as this one, then I’m in trouble!

Gabe is the quirkiest character ever. I like her a lot. She has some My Girl vibes going on (love that movie), she lives in a funeral home just like Vada. She has beautiful blonde hair and pale skin and a Wednesday Adams dress.
Gabe and her best friend, Bree, share a love for vintage fashion. They also share a mutual hate for Bryce, the guy who keeps calling Gabe “Graveyard Gabe”, among other things.
Life’s pretty good. Until it is not. Bryce asked Bree on a date and suddenly she’s ready to forget everything he’s done to her best friend Gabe and ride off into the sunset with him. Gabe can hardly recognize her best friend anymore. And she needs Bree more than ever, she needs to share everything that’s been going on with the new guy, Hartman.
Is it possible that she’s lost her best friend forever?

First of all, I love the meaning behind the title All The Forever Things. That was the main reason I wanted to read this book, I wanted to discover the meaning behind that title. And I’m so glad that I got the chance of reading it because it didn’t disappoint. I won’t tell you what the meaning is, you’ll have to read this book if you want to find out!

As you can tell, I love Gabe’s character. But she is not the only character that I love. Hartman is one of the loveliest male characters I’ve ever read. He’s awkward and grieving and such a beautiful person. Jolene wrote some beautiful, swoony scenes between him and Gabe and those scenes complement the story perfectly and made me love the book even more.

The only thing I don’t like but wouldn’t change for the world, because then the book wouldn’t have the same touch to it, is Bree. I loathe her character. I find her very superficial and I can’t freaking believe she would choose some guy over her best friend. She’s gone through a lot so I understand why acts the way she does but I hate the way she changed when she started dating Bryce.
Also, I don’t like Bryce. Blame Thirteen Reasons Why, every single time I hear that name I think the worst. That didn’t help my case, I really tried to like Bree and Bryce.

All in all, this book is beautiful. It has precious messages inside it, I wish there were more books like this out there in the world. And Gabe’s and Hartman’s love is so incredibly beautiful, every time I think about it I feel like hugging a teddy bear. Sounds weird, but I promise that’s exactly how you’ll feel.
If you’re a YA lover, then read this book. You’ll enjoy it, for sure!